Allan Lund Jensen – manager of Tvindkraft

- Tvindkraft now and in the future - What else is Tvind’s Teacher Group doing about climate change?

I am Allan Jensen and I have been looking after Tvindkraft for the past many years. In recent years together with Britta and Ferenc. And it has been a great pleasure.

The main reason why the windmill has been running for so many years is that the people who built it did a great job. I would like to thank them for that. I would like all who joined the work at the time to stand up. (Applause)

But there have also been challenges on the way. And we have got all sorts of assistance from different people along the road when we needed help.Throughout the years different people have joined in running, maintaining and developing Tvindkraft. And we have always been able to ask for advice and instruction on anything from types of paint to electronic control systems and frequency converters. So in this way Tvindkraft still belongs to the many people, just as it was when it was built. I would also to say thanks for that.

When we built the windmill, it was about clean and cheap energy which could not be monopolized. And it was against nuclear power and pollution. As we all know, the Danes won the struggle against nuclear power.

Today our focus has moved to global warming. Last year, 2014, became the warmest since measuring began. And this year appears to strike a new record. We are up against powerful interests.

I am now going to tell a little about what we from Tvind’s Teacher Group are doing about Global Warming and Climate Change, both at the Schools in Tvind and globally around the world.

We who are organized in Tvind’s Teacher Group are in full swing dealing with the question of Global Warming and Climate Change in the places where we work around the world.The tasks are: Reducing CO2 emissions by making the transition to 100 % renewable energy and by doing so providing energy security for people. Securing sustainable, local food supplies, especially in Third World countries where climate change is hitting the hardest.

Securing emergency services so that the effects of a more violent climate in the shape of hurricanes, drought and flooding can be dealt with.

If we first look at Tvind concerning CO2 emissions, then we at Tvindkraft have built a new frequency converter, which we have recently put into service. By doing so we have doubled our output of grid electricity, which contributes to the reduction of our CO2 footprint. We shall continue to develop the windmill, for example by adding an energy storage system. We have also decided that the windmill is going to run for ever.

Now let us look at other climate work we are doing in Tvind: The schools have installed a total of 22 kW solar cells and a couple of solar heaters.We also have a small stand-alone solar-wind system put up by volunteers.

Also regarding self-sufficiency with food, we are in full swing, growing a number of crops on about 1 ha in a crop rotation system. We have 56 high beds where strawberries are the main crop.We have 2 chicken pens from where we get eggs for own consumption.The garden farming is an area we will expand much in future. And this is also happening in many other places where Tvind’s Teacher Group is working.

If we now go out in the world, I will mention some examples of our climate work. One is Richmond Vale Academy, which is a school run by Tvind’s Teacher Group in the Caribbean.In co-operation with the Government, the school is running a campaign called The Climate Compliance Conference, which runs for 10 years till the goals are achieved. The campaign aims to prepare St. Vincent to deal with the climate changes they are already experiencing and which hit the poorest countries the hardest. Part of the organizing of the campaign is climate activist courses, which you can sign up for for 1 or six months.

As part of providing food security the school is doing perma-culture, which means growing a mix of many different trees and vegetables which support each other in growing and keeping weeds and pests down, and which do not have to be re-sown each year. Also animals and people are incorporated in the perma-culture. The school has established a rain water collection system, so that the water can be saved for when they need it. Tree planting is important as new trees bind a lot of CO2. Richmond Vale Academy and St. Vincent have won a gold medal in a worldwide tree planting OL for schools, whose aim it is to get 100 million trees planted before 2017. Some of you know that the Schools in Tvind contribute to another tree planting campaign where we are planting 14 million trees in connection with our projects in different Third World countries.

Also cleaning up actions to protect the natural environment are a part of the campaign at Richmond Vale Academy.An important part of the whole campaign is teaching people what it means to be Climate Compliant and what it means to the future of St. Vincent so that the population will take the lead in the work.

You can also become a Climate Activist in other Tvind Schools such as CICD in England and Lindersvold School Center in Zealand, Denmark.

Another type of climate work run by Tvind’s Teacher Group can be found in the organization Ulandshjælp fra Folk til Folk (UFF, Development Aid from People to People), internationally called Humana People to People. They are reknown for collecting clothes, and they are supporting a number of projects in the Third World. As we are here speaking of poor countries, environment and climate work and information about it is high on the agenda. The headline of Humana’s climate work is: “Our Climate our Challenge”. Many of the projects are organized in ”Farmers Clubs”, where farmers help each other to get a higher yield from the fields and improve cultivation methods. Just like in St. Vincent education on all levels is an important part of all projects. Lessons often take place in the fields.One technical solution to be mentioned is rope pumps that supply the population with clean water and save them time, as they don’t have to walk several kilometres to the nearest river or lake to get it.….One big project can be found in Guinea Bissau in Western Africa. Here 36 solar water pumps systems and 51 solar light systems for social institutions, schools, assembly halls and mosques are being established. The project aims at giving the Farmers’ Club peasants access to energy to improve their living conditions give them higher incomes while they train developing their production using new means of production. They also learn how to maintain the solar panels.The water is being used by the villagers and for irrigating the fields. The project also comprises starting up production of jatropha oil from the farmer’s fences that are made up by jatropha bushes. The jatropha seeds are pressed into oil which runs a generator which can run together with the solar cells. There are eight such generators. In connection with the project 7 production centres with modern agricultural machinery and local shops are being established.The project budget is roughly speaking 2.4 mill. Euro, of which the EU pays 1.8 mill. Euros. The rest is paid by donations from Humana Spain, Planet Aid USA, and Humana Guinea Bissau.

Another large project can be found at Humana’s school centre in Caxito in Angola. Here a large solar cell plant with battery storage has been established. It produces 200 kWh a day making the school centre self-sufficient with electric power. The plant supplies electricity to the Teacher Training College and to the Vocational School, which is a Practical Theoretical Basis course like our Danish PTG course here in Tvind. This plant was financed by Humana Holland.

Another example of climate technology is direct use of sunlight: You can dry crops behind black plastic, a method used for example by one of the Humana Farmers’ Clubs in Zimbabwe.

My final example of Humana’s Climate Work is the clothes collection, which takes place in a number of countries in Europe. In addition to financing projects in the Third World, use of second-hand clothes also gives huge CO2 savings, as well as saving water and other resources. F. ex. a single new T-shirt represents resources and a CO2 footprint corresponding to the weight of an elephant compared to a similar second-hand one where the use of resources corresponds to the weight of a mouse.Humana’s clothes collection all over the world saves the World for emissions of 900.000 tons of CO2 each year. This corresponds to planting 45 million trees.